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Migrant children could outnumber troops 4-1 at a Texas Air Force base

A PROGRAMMING NOTE:Morning Defense will not publish Wednesday, the Fourth of July. We’ll be back on Thursday, July 5.

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OUTNUMBERED — TEXAS AIR BASE COULD HOUSE UP TO 20,000 MIGRANT KIDS, reports the Military Times: “If government plans go through, undocumented immigrant children could outnumber military personnel almost 4-to-1 at West Texas’ Goodfellow Air Force Base.

“The World War II-era base stood up in the months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, as the United States began rapidly building up its pilot corps in the event of war. These days, it’s home to about 5,500 airmen, Marines, soldiers and sailors who attend its joint fire-fighting school and a defense intelligence school.

“It may soon be home to as many as 20,000 unaccompanied minors who crossed into the U.S. illegally, based on a Health and Human Services Department request to DoD.”

TRUMP WRITES NATO ALLIES: UP DEFENSE SPENDING, OR ELSE, via The New York Times: “President Trump has written sharply worded letters to the leaders of several NATO allies — including Germany, Belgium, Norway and Canada — taking them to task for spending too little on their own defense and warning that the United States is losing patience with what he said was their failure to meet security obligations shared by the alliance.

“The letters, sent in June, are the latest sign of acrimony between Mr. Trump and American allies as he heads to a NATO summit meeting next week in Brussels that will be a closely watched test of the president’s commitment to the alliance. Mr. Trump has repeatedly questioned its value and has claimed that its members are taking advantage of the United States.”

Meanwhile, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who most recently commanded the U.S. Army in Europe, tells Stars and Stripes a large U.S. military withdrawal from Germany would be a “colossal mistake.”

And Greece’s defense minister says that along with a coalition ally, he will seek to block a deal with Macedonia that could pave its accession to NATO and the EU, via Reuters.

— AND MATTIS GIVES THE U.K. AN ULTIMATUM, via The Sun: "America has given Britain an ultimatum to boost its defence spending, or risk the death of the Special Relationship.

"The bombshell warning was delivered to the US’s Secretary of Defense to his British counterpart, Gavin Williamson, two weeks ago.

"The letter - which is unprecedented in its bluntness - has been leaked to The Sun.

"In it, former US Marine Corps general Jim Mattis says Washington DC is 'concerned' that Britain’s military prowess is 'at risk of erosion'...

"In an ominous threat, the general also makes it very clear that while Britain may want to 'remain the US partner of choice', France is already boosting its defence spending - and is waiting in the wings to replace us."

“‘Recognizing Crimea as part of Russia would undermine the rules-based international order that was created with U.S. leadership and has caused democracy to thrive around the world and made America a safer home for our citizens,’ Corker said in a tweet on Monday, without directly mentioning Trump.

“Corker added that in the ‘upcoming Helsinki summit, the U.S. must stand firmly with our NATO allies and affirm our transatlantic partnership. Doing otherwise strengthens Putin and undermines democratic values.’”

But the White House says there's been no change to the U.S. opposition to recognizing Russia’s annexation of Crimea, via The Associated Press.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to make some magic with Trump in Helsinki, writes The New Yorker.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is set to meet today with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers, reports Reuters.

HAPPENING TODAY — TRUMP LUNCHES WITH MATTIS: The president is scheduled to have lunch with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the White House.

FOR YOUR RADAR — WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES POMPEO’S NORTH KOREA TRIP, via POLITICO’s Rebecca Morin: “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will leave July 5 to meet with North Korean officials and continue talks about denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, the White House announced Monday.

Among its findings, most participants have more confidence in using diplomatic negotiations, rather than military force, to resolve the situation with North Korea.

— CRS ASSESSES THE PENTAGON’S MASSIVE AUDIT, via our colleague Connor O’Brien: “The Congressional Research Service is out with a new primer on the Pentagon’s first-ever full financial audit.

“The nonpartisan research agency outlines the arguments for the Pentagon to finally examine its books, the costs to undertake the audit and how it will be conducted...

“The audit will cover approximately $2.4 trillion in assets, making it one of the largest ever conducted. The Pentagon, which is the only federal agency never to be audited, is not expected to produce a clean audit.”

RUBIO WAGES WAR ON TRUMP’S ZTE DEAL, writes the Washington Examiner: “The congressional effort to nullify an agreement between ZTE Corp. and the Trump administration is set to continue despite the Chinese telecommunication firm's rush to comply with the deal's terms.

“The Commerce Department said in June it would lift a seven-year U.S. sales ban on ZTE in exchange for a $1.4 billion fine and the overhaul of the company's executive team…”

“The announcement did little to ease concerns over the deal from lawmakers such as Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who are hoping to scrap it through legislation.”

Last week, Van Hollen attached a provision to the Senate’s fiscal 2019 defense appropriations bill, S.3159 that would prohibit the department from transferring the fighter jet to Turkey until the Defense secretary certifies Turkey won’t purchase the S-400.

The provision builds on a similar one Van Hollen attached to the fiscal 2019 State and Foreign Operations spending bill. Similarly, the Senate and House versions of fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act also contain provisions that would bar sales of the jets until certain reporting requirements are met.

“Turkey has a clear choice. I still support transferring them the F-35’s but only if they agree not to acquire the S-400,” Van Hollen said. “They’re a valuable NATO ally, and they need to start acting like a NATO ally.”

Still, with their F-35 program in limbo, Turkish pilots have begun training in U.S., adds Air Force Times.

F-35 SAVINGS OVERHYPED? Writes Bloomberg: “Senators have chided the Pentagon’s F-35 program office for claiming $1.2 billion in purported savings from buying parts and equipment for Lockheed Martin Corp.’s fighter jet in bulk after an independent analysis found the benefit is likely to be half that.

“Program office officials sought and won congressional approval last year to spend $661 million as a down payment on parts for 207 U.S. aircraft to be purchased in 2019 and 2020. The pitch was that this would save $1.2 billion for the U.S. and allies that buy the fighter, split evenly...

“But an assessment by the Defense Department’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, sought by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain of Arizona, found the savings will total $600 million, including $300 million for U.S. aircraft.”

“Japan plans to buy two Aegis Ashore batteries to be deployed in 2023 in an upgrade of its missile defenses against the arsenals of North Korea and China. The purchase could also help ease trade friction with Washington.”

— MEET THE ‘CODSPREY,’ also via the Washington Examiner: “U.S. troops and supplies will soon have a new way to arrive on aircraft carriers after the Pentagon inked a new $4 billion aircraft contract.

“The agreement with Boeing and Bell Helicopter announced Friday includes 39 of a new Navy variant of the V-22 Osprey aircraft, called the CMV-22B, that would land on the massive ship decks and would transport people and supplies.”

MAKING MOVES — SIERRA NEVADA HIRES A NEW INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS VP: S. Sita Sonty, a former State Department official, has joined Sierra Nevada as its new vice president of international business.

Sonty served more than 15 years as a foreign service officer and previously led the International Security Advisory Board at the State Department.

— AIA NAMES NEW VP OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Timothy McClees has been named the new vice president of legislative affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association.

McClees had been chief of staff to the Energy Department’s deputy secretary and as a deputy staff director to the House Armed Services Committee.

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About The Author : Gregory Hellman

Greg Hellman is a defense reporter for POLITICO Pro. He is the author of the Morning Defense newsletter and covers Congress.

Prior to joining POLITICO, Greg worked as a national security analyst for the Government Accountability Office where he focused on defense and counter-ISIS policy. He also worked as a reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Inside Washington Publishers, where he covered worker-safety policy.

Greg grew up outside Milwaukee, Wis. He graduated from Boston University in 2008 and American University in 2013.